Vitamin C or
L-ascorbic acid, or simply
ascorbate (the
anion of
ascorbic acid), is an
essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. Vitamin C describes several
vitamers that have vitamin C activity in animals, including ascorbic acid and its salts, and some oxidized forms of the molecule like
dehydroascorbic acid. Ascorbate and ascorbic acid are both naturally present in the body when either of these is introduced into cells, since the forms interconvert according to
pH.